Apple Plans Second Data Center for iCloud Services in China

Apple is planning to build a second data center in China, with an operation date set for 2020 and location in Ulanqab City, according to a report today by Xinhua Net (via Reuters).

Located in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the second center is said to provide various iCloud services for users on the Chinese mainland. Plans are for the center to run on 100 percent renewable energy sources, similar to other data centers built by Apple.

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Apple Inc., the United States tech giant, will build a data center in Ulanqab City in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, after its first data center in southwestern Guizhou Province, the local government has announced.

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The Ulanqab City data center will be Apple's second in China, following an announcement last summer for its first China-based data center located in the southern province of Guizhou. The first center was set up in partnership with data management firm Guizhou-Cloud Big Data Industry and in accordance with the country's new cybersecurity laws.

At the time, Reuters reported that Apple was the first foreign tech firm to announce amendments to its data storage arrangements in China to comply with a new cybersecurity law that was implemented in June, requiring foreign firms to store data within the country. While concerns about surveillance and data security were brought up, Apple assured reporters it had strong privacy and security protections in place, stating that "No backdoors will be created into any of our systems."

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Gotta keep China happy. There's a TON of money to be made there. It's not simply a matter of pulling out of China as some (with zero business sense) suggest. No company is going to do so when they stand to make billions of dollars a year from staying involved there.

I think as a solution/service provider that is responsible to its investors, complying to the local government laws is a logical thing to do.

If you were in the shoes of Chinese or North Korean nationals, would you trust the US government not trying to access your data while Apple's infrastructure is all housed in the US, especially after that whole FBI vs. Apple/tech firms feud?

Gotta keep China happy. There's a TON of money to be made there. It's not simply a matter of pulling out of China as some (with zero business sense) suggest. No company is going to do so when they stand to make billions of dollars a year from staying involved there.

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Yeah Google tried to go that route and it didn't work out so well for them. They are desperately trying to get back into China. They would murder baby seals to get back into China.

I think as a solution/service provider that is responsible to its investors, complying to the local government laws is a logical thing to do.

If you were in the shoes of Chinese or North Korean nationals, would you trust the US government not trying to access your data while Apple's infrastructure is all housed in the US, especially after that whole FBI vs. Apple/tech firms feud?

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I can criticize my government, president, and appraise North Korea all I want, and nothing is going to happen to me. Now if I am sending a threat to do something stupid and harmful to the POTUS, I would assume the Feds would be on my ass almost immediately from the info I share online, perhaps.

In China however, a minor suggestion of how the leader looks like Winnie the Pool will get cops knock on your door. Also accessing Western websites with VPN is prosecutable. (Not saying they really arrest everyone with a VPN, but it is technically illegal and there are people who were arrested over this).

Oh, did I mention, it is illegal for people to post anything online without a real-name/real-ID authentication, and any internet service provider (in this case, Apple) are required to share their data with the government, hence the whole iCloud in China mess.

The list goes on and on and on and on.....

I grew up in China and moved to the US when I was 12, and recently I spent a year in China and I must say, I feel my data is much safer in the hands of US government.

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